There is a certain way a man accustomed to success carries himself, as if gravity is slightly less weighty to him and no matter is all that consuming.

The manner in which Donavan Tate sauntered around the Lake Elsinore Diamond last week could best be described as sort of nonchalant swagger.

You want to be impressed, to see it as a sign of a kid who has finally found a comfort zone in professional baseball. Given the history here, however, you worry it could instead be ill-begotten arrogance.

One or the other. San Diego sports fans have been there before.

All we can do is wait and watch, hoping Tate can take advantage of this opportunity to step away from the brink of being a bust.

The third overall pick of the 2009 draft is in Advanced A-ball, a level to which he should have risen long ago and has ascended to now pretty much because there was a roster spot at Lake Elsinore and the Padres figured it was worth a try to get the kid going.

“If you move up,” Tate said, “it’s always good.”

Absolutely, unless it’s just one step closer to the exit.

But let’s hope this promotion of convenience turns into the first step toward us forgetting we ever fretted he not only wasn’t a five-tool player but also simply a tool. Because, seriously, this franchise just can’t afford to keep missing on first-round picks.

Tate could never be the Padres’ version of Ryan Leaf. Matt Bush, the No.1 overall pick in 2004, locked up that parallel all too absolutely, right down to the jail coveralls. And it does not seem that Tate’s brand of confidence is akin to Leaf’s ignorant arrogance or Bush’s immature insolence.

But the frustrating thing is, Tate seemed a good bet to help us forget Bush and his ilk.

A two-sport star in high school, Tate was selected on the strength of an unquestioned work ethic, impeccable character and inbred speed. He was given a franchise-record $6.5 million with the belief he would halt the trend of Padres’ first-round picks that fizzled before they ever caught fire. Of the team’s five first-round picks preceding Tate, none are in the majors, none are still in the Padres organization, just two ever made the majors with the Padres (playing in a total of 24 games) and two are out of baseball altogether.

Hey, everyone progresses at a different rate, especially when it comes to realizing potential in the difficult vocation of baseball, but consider that seven of the top 10 picks from Tate’s draft class are in the majors and another is on the verge of the big call-up.

Conversely, Tate’s tale is one of one mishap after another, the consequence of accidents, injuries and irresponsibility.

He suffered an abdominal injury before ever playing a professional game. His first offseason, he was hurt in an ATV accident. He sustained a concussion diving for a ball during the next spring training and also missed time with a viral ailment and a thumb injury that season.

Then, in April 2011, while rehabbing a knee injury suffered in an outfield collision, Tate failed a drug test and had to serve a 25-game suspension. A source told UT-San Diego at the time the positive test was for marijuana, and Padres General Manager Jed Hoyer said: “He has to get his act together. This better be a wakeup call.”

There are signs that Tate at least has been aroused from his stupid stupor.

“I’ve had enough chances -- more than enough,” he said last week. “I don’t need any more. I just need to go out there and take care of business now so they don’t have to worry about giving me any more chances. I need to let my play take care of itself and do what I need to off the field too.”

The only Storm player sitting in the dugout after his teammates had gone to the cool of the clubhouse for the pregame grub, Tate was engaging throughout a 15-minute interview. For the most part, he appeared genuinely chastened, even embarrassed.

“You step back a little bit and go, ‘Wow. I really need to get this going,” Tate said. “When they say (what Hoyer did) you think, ‘They’re perceiving me as another person that I’m really not.’ And that’s big … I was just young, immature. Now I’ve had a chance to step back and be around people that want the best for me. It’s a big learning learning experience … I think that’s why I’ve been able to really focus this year and stay on the field and stay healthy this whole season.”

Indeed, the athletes are few and far between who have ever been caught doing something wrong, punished and returned to say, “I have not learned from that. I am not a better person. In fact, I’m high right now.”

When the fruit is there, however, we must dial back our pessimism to a healthy skepticism.

It’s a small sample size, but in 10 games with the Storm he is 9-for-33 with nine walks. While he has also struck out 15 times and been caught stealing twice (versus one successful swipe), he’s played in every game and is getting on base way more than he had previously.

In a way, Tate’s career hasn’t even gotten started, as he played in his 126th career game on Sunday night. Still, he might be closer to the end than the beginning.

So far, he appears to be something of a new man. He needs that to continue. As do the Padres.